Bernice Summerfield: The Judas Gift
Aug. 14th, 2025 09:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vivdunstanOnto another in this pivotal season of Big Finish's Bernice Summerfield audios spun out from 1990s Doctor Who novels, and it's definitely into spoiler space for this one.
I really enjoyed this audio. It's a tense story, set during a violent war, as the Braxiatel Collection finds itself threatened from outside and within. I particularly enjoyed the framing narrative of a story told by Bev Tarrant, and her role was key to the plot. The ending also increased the threat in partial hiding from Irving Braxiatel.
However it was another story that was hampered by the mixed media format of Big Finish Benny stories at this time. If, like me, you're listening to the audios primarily (I have most of the short story and novella collections in house, but haven't been able to read print well for too long to manage them) then you can be mystified by plot threads, large and small. I barely understand the larger war that's playing out this season. And I was also left wondering while listening to this story if I'd missed another plot point in the books (nope: on checking I think this is just back story revealed in this audio, but my confusion was understandable). I'm constantly filling in gaps using the Doctor Who Wiki (e.g. its entry for this audio). And it's frustrating.
Against that the season is delivering strong scifi stories, in a fascinating setting, with a rich and well performed set of characters, both core and guest cast. It's also building up the Braxiatel mystery, which is shortly to come to a head. I just wish the storytelling didn't feel so incomplete.
I really enjoyed this audio. It's a tense story, set during a violent war, as the Braxiatel Collection finds itself threatened from outside and within. I particularly enjoyed the framing narrative of a story told by Bev Tarrant, and her role was key to the plot. The ending also increased the threat in partial hiding from Irving Braxiatel.
However it was another story that was hampered by the mixed media format of Big Finish Benny stories at this time. If, like me, you're listening to the audios primarily (I have most of the short story and novella collections in house, but haven't been able to read print well for too long to manage them) then you can be mystified by plot threads, large and small. I barely understand the larger war that's playing out this season. And I was also left wondering while listening to this story if I'd missed another plot point in the books (nope: on checking I think this is just back story revealed in this audio, but my confusion was understandable). I'm constantly filling in gaps using the Doctor Who Wiki (e.g. its entry for this audio). And it's frustrating.
Against that the season is delivering strong scifi stories, in a fascinating setting, with a rich and well performed set of characters, both core and guest cast. It's also building up the Braxiatel mystery, which is shortly to come to a head. I just wish the storytelling didn't feel so incomplete.